Unseen Steve McQueen snaps

And what better way to begin it than with photographs of arguably the coolest man ever to swagger across the Earth? No better way, that’s what.

Taken from the new book, Steve McQueen: The Actor And His Films, they show the star on the set of 1972 thriller The Getaway — wrapped shotgun in hand before a take (below), and celebrating his 42nd birthday by pretending to relieve himself on his cake (above).

But there’s more to the book than gun-toting and cake-defiling. The volume contains more than 1,000 images from every single one of the actor’s films. In addition, there are insights into his screen techniques and reproductions of vintage posters.

You’ll find our definition of ‘Modern Cool’ in the feature (from page 38), but for the embodiment of ‘Timeless Cool’, look no further than these pictures.

Steve McQueen: The Actor And His Films is out in November, priced £44; daltonwatson.com